Safe Harbor Agreement for the Reintroduction of the Amargosa Vole (Microtus californicus scirpensis

Citation85 FR 43597
Record Number2020-15437
Published date17 July 2020
SectionNotices
CourtFish And Wildlife Service
Federal Register, Volume 85 Issue 138 (Friday, July 17, 2020)
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 138 (Friday, July 17, 2020)]
                [Notices]
                [Pages 43597-43598]
                From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
                [FR Doc No: 2020-15437]
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                DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
                Fish and Wildlife Service
                [FWS-R8-ES-2020-N073; FXES11140800000-201-FF08ECAR00]
                Safe Harbor Agreement for the Reintroduction of the Amargosa Vole
                (Microtus californicus scirpensis) in Shoshone, CA, and Draft
                Environmental Action Statement, Inyo County, CA
                AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
                ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.
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                SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), have
                received an application from Susan Sorrells (applicant) for an
                enhancement of survival permit (permit) under the Endangered Species
                Act. The application includes a draft safe harbor agreement (SHA) to
                facilitate reintroduction and recovery of the federally endangered
                Amargosa vole on non-Federal land in California. We have prepared a
                draft environmental action statement (EAS) for our preliminary
                determination that the SHA and permit decision may be eligible for
                categorical exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act. We
                invite the public to review and comment on the permit application,
                draft SHA, and the draft EAS.
                DATES: To ensure consideration, please send your written comments on or
                before August 17, 2020.
                ADDRESSES: You may view or download copies of the draft SHA and draft
                EAS and obtain additional information on the internet at https://www.fws.gov/carlsbad/, or obtain hard copies or a CD-ROM by calling the
                phone number listed below. You may submit comments or requests for more
                information by any of the following methods:
                 Email: [email protected]. Include ``Amargosa vole
                SHA'' in the subject line of the message.
                 U.S. Mail: Assistant Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish and
                Wildlife Service, Palm Springs Fish and Wildlife Office, 777 East
                Tahquitz Canyon Way, Suite 208, Palm Springs, CA 92262.
                FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Scott Hoffmann, Palm Springs Fish and
                Wildlife Office (see ADDRESSES); by telephone at 760-322-2070 or by
                electronic mail at [email protected]. If you use a
                telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), please call the Federal
                Information Relay Service at 800-877-8339.
                SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Susan Sorrells, hereafter referred to as the
                applicant, has applied to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for permit
                pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973,
                as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The permit application
                includes a draft safe harbor agreement (SHA), which covers 467 acres
                owned by the applicant in Inyo County, California. The proposed term of
                the permit and the SHA is 30 years. The permit would authorize
                incidental take of the endangered Amargosa vole (Microtus californicus
                scirpensis) in exchange for habitat conservation actions that are
                expected to provide a net conservation benefit for the species. We have
                prepared a draft environmental action statement (EAS) for our
                preliminary determination that the SHA and permit decision may be
                eligible for categorical exclusion under the National Environmental
                Policy Act (NEPA; 43 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). We invite the public to
                review and comment on the permit application, draft SHA, and the draft
                EAS.
                Background Information
                 SHAs are intended to encourage private or other non-Federal
                property owners to implement beneficial conservation actions for
                species listed under the ESA. SHA permit holders are assured that they
                will not be subject to increased property use restrictions as a result
                of their proactive actions to benefit listed species. Incidental take
                of listed species is authorized under a permit pursuant to the
                provisions of section 10(a)(1)(A) of the ESA. For an applicant to
                receive a permit through an SHA, the applicant must submit an
                application form that includes the following:
                 (1) The common and scientific names of the listed species for which
                the applicant requests incidental take authorization;
                 (2) A description of how incidental take of the listed species
                pursuant to the SHA is likely to occur, both as a result of management
                activities and as a result of the return to baseline; and
                 (3) A description of how the SHA complies with the requirements of
                the Service's Safe Harbor policy.
                 For the Service to issue a permit, we must determine that:
                 (1) The take of listed species will be incidental to an otherwise
                lawful activity and will be in accordance with the terms of the SHA;
                 (2) The implementation of the terms of the SHA is reasonably
                expected to provide a net conservation benefit to the covered species
                by contributing to its recovery, and the SHA otherwise complies with
                the Service's Safe Harbor Policy (64 FR 32717, June 17, 1999);
                 (3) The probable direct and indirect effects of any authorized take
                will not appreciably reduce the likelihood of survival and recovery in
                the wild of any listed species;
                 (4) Implementation of the terms of the SHA is consistent with
                applicable Federal, State, and Tribal laws and regulations;
                 (5) Implementation of the terms of the SHA will not be in conflict
                with any ongoing conservation or recovery programs for listed species
                covered by the permit; and
                 (6) The applicant has shown capability for and commitment to
                implementing all of the terms of the SHA.
                 The Service's Safe Harbor Policy (64 FR 32717) and the Safe Harbor
                Regulations (68 FR 53320, 69 FR 24084) provide important terms and
                concepts for developing SHAs. The Service's Safe Harbor policy and
                regulations are
                [[Page 43598]]
                available at the following website: http://www.fws.gov/endangered/laws-policies/regulations-and-policies.html.
                Proposed Action
                 The applicant has submitted a draft SHA for the Amargosa vole that
                covers approximately 467 acres of land (enrolled property) in Inyo
                County, California, within historical but currently unoccupied habitat
                of the Amargosa vole. The enrolled property comprises marsh habitat in
                areas irrigated by water from Shoshone Spring or other sources,
                interspersed trees of various species, open meadow, various degrees of
                undisturbed and disturbed salt scrub desert, and developed areas.
                Development within the enrolled property includes the Shoshone Trailer
                RV Park (camping sites, picnic areas, walking trails, and a swimming
                pool), various parking areas, and unpaved trails and roads. The broader
                Enrolled Property is bisected by Old State Highway CA 127 and State
                Highway CA 127, and lies adjacent to land owned by the Death Valley
                Unified School District. Within the enrolled property is a core area
                comprising three connected marsh sites where intensive habitat
                restoration activities have been implemented by the applicant, the
                Service, and other cooperators.
                 The permit and implementation of management activities described in
                the SHA will enable the translocation and reintroduction of wild
                Amargosa voles, which will expand the species' current range into
                historical habitat where it had previously been extirpated. Management
                activities will also include ongoing restoration in the core area to
                support this newly established population. The re-establishment of
                Amargosa vole populations within their historical range is a high-
                priority recovery action. Management activities in the SHA have been
                developed to support recovery actions for the Amargosa vole by
                restoring and protecting suitable habitat, and by implementing habitat
                management plans. The Service anticipates that implementation of these
                activities will produce the following net conservation benefits to the
                Amargosa vole:
                 Re-establish Amargosa vole populations at the northern
                extent of the subspecies' range, in its historical type locality;
                 Provide areas where suitable habitat for the Amargosa vole
                will be maintained, protected, and remain relatively undisturbed;
                 Increase population redundancy within the subspecies'
                range; and
                 Reduce the potential for local extirpation and extinction
                due to stochastic events (e.g., wildfire and disease) within the
                species' limited existing occupied habitat.
                Species Information
                 The current range of the Amargosa vole is confined to 36 marshes in
                the Lower Amargosa River Valley in the vicinity of Tecopa Hot Springs
                and the northern end of the Amargosa Canyon. The Amargosa vole
                obligately depends upon, and is closely associated with, wetland
                vegetation dominated by Olney's three-square bulrush (Schoenoplectus
                americanus), where it generally occurs in isolated and disjunct marshes
                surrounded by saltgrass-dominated habitats or more xeric desert scrub
                or barren areas. Although not all of the mechanisms that drive habitat
                selection are fully understood, plausible explanations for habitat
                preference may include the presence of standing and flowing water,
                reliance on Olney's three-square bulrush as a vital food source, and
                utilization of bulrush litter layers (up to 3.3 feet in depth) for
                thermoregulation, nesting, and predator avoidance.
                National Environmental Policy Act Compliance
                 The development of the draft SHA and the proposed issuance of an
                enhancement of survival permit are Federal actions that trigger the
                need for compliance with the NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). We have
                prepared a draft EAS to analyze the impacts of permit issuance and
                implementation of the SHA on the human environment in comparison to the
                no-action alternative. We have made a preliminary determination that
                issuing the permit and implementing the SHA would have minor or
                negligible impacts to the environment, and thus the proposed SHA and
                permit actions are eligible for categorical exclusion under NEPA. The
                basis for our preliminary determination is contained in the EAS, which
                is available for public review (see ADDRESSES).
                Next Steps
                 We will evaluate the permit application, associated documents, and
                comments we receive to determine whether the permit application meets
                the requirements of the ESA, NEPA, and their implementing regulations.
                If we determine that all requirements are met, we will sign the
                proposed SHA and issue a permit under section 10(a)(1)(A) of the ESA to
                the applicant. We will not make our final decision on the permit
                application until after the end of the public comment period, and we
                will fully consider all comments we receive during the comment period.
                Public Availability of Comments
                 Written comments we receive become part of the public record
                associated with this action. Before including your address, phone
                number, email address, or other personal identifying information in
                your comment, you should be aware that the entire comment, including
                your personal identifying information, may be made available at any
                time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal
                identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we
                will be able to do so.
                Authority
                 We provide this notice under section 10(c) of the ESA (16 U.S.C.
                1531 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (50 CFR 17.22 and
                17.32), and NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4371 et seq.) and its implementing
                regulations (40 CFR 1506.6; 43 CFR part 46).
                Scott Sobiech,
                Field Supervisor, Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office, Pacific Southwest
                Region.
                [FR Doc. 2020-15437 Filed 7-16-20; 8:45 am]
                BILLING CODE 4333-15-P
                

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